


Meant to be

by littlemissliar



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Galra Keith (Voltron), Groping, Inspired by Flowers in the Attic, M/M, Masturbation, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Science Experiments, Shame, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Trapped, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2020-10-25 13:57:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20725331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemissliar/pseuds/littlemissliar
Summary: Kieth awakens to find himself in a strange room with another named Shiro. They find that they have been taken by a mysterious alien race know as the Gallra and are being watched to see how humans develop and among other things. The room has no windows, and there is no door out. Keith says to Shiro that he'll get them out. But as they grow and lose touch with their sense of reality.Did they ever want to leave?





	1. First meeting

“Are you okay?”

It was the first words that he had ever said to Keith. When he woke up in a dark, empty room it was the first voice he heard. Kieth was startled, reeling back hard, trying his best to make distance between the strange other boy in the room. He was in one of the corners of the new room, crouched into a tight ball, watching the other boy. The other boy stayed planted on the ground, watching Keith. He stayed where he sat on the floor, just smiling at him. 

Keith’s eyes scanned the new room, looking for something to defend himself with, in case the other would attacked him. The room would have been pitch black if not for a small window, and the room itself was somewhat small. There where two single beds, one had a thick black blanket on it with, a nightstand between them. Kieth spotted a table with two chairs, all of them matching. There was a picnic basket on the table but it looked like it had been opened. 

Had he been drugged? 

Was his other strange boy his kidnapper? 

Where was his father? 

He spotted a door out of the strange room, instantly racing into it. He slammed the door hard against it, feeling for a lock on the door. The clock clicked sharply, and then he started feeling for a light switch. The lights flicked on after a few seconds, to show a claw footed bathtub, a toilet and sink, with a mirror. The cold of the tiles against his bare feet made his skin prickle up. He looked around the bathroom, but the only window was a small and slanted at the top of the walls. He saw the evening stars through it. He paced around the room, from the door to other side of the room, racking his brain. 

A polite knock on the bathroom door brought him out of his whirlwind thoughts. He stopped pacing, and gentle padded over to the door. Keith listened for the other boy. He saw his shadow at the foot of the door. 

“I’m sorry if I startled you, my name is Shiro,” was all the boy said to him, Shiro.   
“I know your scared, I was scared too when I came here as well,” he spoke again. 

Keitch’s face flushed with anger. How dare he say that he was scared. “I’m not scared,” Keith snapped at him through the door, hoping Shiro could see his angered expression but not his flushed face. He just wanted to know why he was trapped in a small room, with a total stranger. And where was his father. And how did he get there. He was not scared. That was for sure. 

“What’s your name?” Shiro asked him. 

Keith frowned, seeing Shiro was going to be of no help to his descape from the strange room. He crossed his arms frowning slouching against the bathroom door with a deep sigh. 

“Keith”

He heard the rustling of Shiro sitting down on the floor through the gap in the door. They both pressed their backs to the door of the bathroom, leaning most of their weights on the door. It felt like a couple of minutes had passed Keith couldn’t tell as there was no clock in the bathroom and he didn’t wear a wrist watch but Shiro spoke again. 

“Do you want to hear about the rules now or when we have dinner?” He asked. 

Keith frowned deeper. There where rules as well? What could make this place more miserable.  
He rolled his eyes, “No, Shiro. I don’t want to hear them at all because I’m going to get out of here.” 

Shiro, promptly started listing off rules.

“Rule one, we have to sleep in our own beds.

Rule two, we have to eat everything in the basket. 

Rule three, we have to bathe every night. 

Rule four we can’t be in the bathroom alone.”

Keith started to ignore Shiro in favour of banging his head against the bathroom door. As more rules came on and on, Keith getting more bored by the second, and the head banging thing getting old, he tuned into whatever Shiro was talking about. 

“Rule forty three, you have to do whatever I say”

Keith shot up from his seat on the bathroom floor, “That’s not a rule!” he yelled at Shiro. He stomped his foot for good measure as well. “And why do I have to do everything you say? Your not even my father,” he yelled for good measure, cheeks flushed. 

“Well,” and Shiro paused. “How old are you?” He asked Keith. 

Oh yes, he had Shiro now. Keith had just turned ten. Double digits. The big One Zero. Puffing out his chest, he proudly announced, “Ten!” 

Shiro snorted, “Wow your really small for a ten year old. I’m thirteen.” 

Keith’s jaw dropped, and he undid the lock on the bathroom door, swinging it open. Shiro was already on his feet, arms crossed with a smug look on his face. And Keith was mortified. Shiro was older it did, kind of, make sense that he would be in charge. Keith looked around, “Who is taller, me or you?” he asked the older one. 

Shiro rolled his eyes and soon enough they where back to back, measuring how tall they where. And to Keith’s horror, Shiro was taller. So then Keith stood against the door frame to the bathroom, arms crossed and cheeks flushed looking over at Shiro. “Mark how tall I am on the door frame, and then we’ll swap and I’ll mark for you.” 

Shiro sighed, sensing Keith wasn’t going to be satisified unless they actually did this. He took out a pencil, walking over to Keith. He placed his hand down on Kieth’s fair, flattening it out, leaning down to examine how much shorter Keith was then him. There faces where close, Keith glaring at him with crossed arms. Shiro smiled at him while he marked Keith’s height on the door frame. 

He pulled back, “All done, my turn.” 

Keith looked at how tall he was on the door frame, inspecting the marking and examining it to make sure Shiro hadn’t cheated him out of few precious cms. Shiro watched Keith do this, smiling to himself. 

“Okay, my turn?” Shiro asked, handing Keith the pencil. Shiro pressed him back against the door frame. Keith walked over to him, getting on his tippy toes and pressing his hand on the top on his hair just like Shiro had done. His slightly strained mumbling, Shiro slowly leaned down so that Keith could mark his height the door frame. With dawning revelation, Keith realised what Shiro already knew. 

“Whatever, this place sucks anyway,” Keith mumbled, cheeks pink. He stalked over to the door, to what he most likely assumed to the outside and tried to open it. And it didn’t open. He pulled on it. He pushed it. He tried to slid it. 

He looked over his shoulder to Shiro, who was sitting down in one of the chairs at the table, going through the basket. “It’s no use, I already tried that. Do you want to have chicken or beef?” 

Sure enough, there where deep marks on the doorknob that Keith pulled his hand away from, along with deep marks on the door that looked like something had been thrown at it with a lot of force. Keith stomach angrily rumbled. He couldn’t escape on an empty stomach. “Chicken,” he mumbled.

He walked over to the table, picking up the sandwich that Shiro had given him and going to sit on the bed that didn’t have the blanket. He took a bite into it and frowned. It was dry. 

Shiro was sitting art the table and he frowned at Keith. “You shouldn’t eat in your bed, you’ll get crumbs in it. Come on, eating at the table makes it taste better.” 

Keith rolled his eyes, but he stood up and went to sit at his place on the table. They ate in silence, and then they finished their sandwiches. “We get the basket every morning, it has breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oh, and we also get milk, and when I finish the milk I like to fill the pitcher with water and just drink from there. And you also got some stuff as well.” And Shiro took out a tooth brush, toothpaste, and a comb. 

“Did I get pjs?” he asked, leaning over to examine the basket, only to see it only had what Keith could assume was dinner. 

Shiro shook his head, “But you can wear mine? I’ll wear the pants and you can have the dress shirt? I’m sure it’ll be big enough so that it’ll look like a dressing gown.” Shiro suggested with a slight smile. 

Keith rolled his eyes, “Yeah, right” 

They kind of sat there for a few minutes. Keith looked over at Shiro, who was just putting the basket away neatly. “How long have you been in here, Shiro?” He asked the older one. 

Shiro stopped for a second, then he stood up, breathing through his teeth. “I don’t know, Keith. I think at least a month or so”. The room was in a heavy silence for a moment. And Keith watched Shiro’s shoulders sag and he walked over to his bed and sit down on it. “I’m sorry that’s not helpful Keith, I try not to think about it.” 

“It’s okay,” Keith mumbled as well, sitting down on his bed. “What do you do?” he asked. 

“Work out, or sleep. Or eat meals” 

Keith perked up agt training, “Shiro, let’s train right now! We can’t get out if where super weak” he said, standing up from the bed, walking over to Shiro. “We can do your favourite exercises and then we can do mine and then we can decide on whose are better.” 

Shiro nodded, and he stood up. They trained together for hours and hours, until sweat ran down their backs. Shiro had already taken off his shirt, exposing a muscled stomach. But the bandade wrapped around his arm grabbed Keith’s attention. Keith also took off his shirt, using it as a rag to rub his sweaty armpits. Shiro was drinking from his glass of water, panting, “Do you want to have dinner yet?”

Keith nodded, walking over to the basket. He openned it, placing the rest of the food on the table. Then he spotted something at the bottom of it. It was two pill bottles. He took them out, giving them a shake to see if anything was inside them. They rattled loudly, and they had Shiro’s name on one of them and his name was on the other. 

“What’s this Shiro?” 

Shiro looked down, placing his glass down. “There just something we have to take.” 

“What does that even mean” Keith snapped, throwing the bottles back into the basket. “What are they going to do if we don’t take them. Can’t we just hide them?” he asked. 

“They just know, Keith. Just pleas trust me. Please?” Shiro had walked up to Keith, shoulders sagged. “They said it was apart of the rules and if we wanted to keep getting the basket we had to take them and eat all the food. I tried to go against them, Keith. It didn’t end well.” 

Shiro unwrapped the bandage on his arm, showing an angry injection mark that looked to be infected. Keith’s stomach twisted just looking at it, feeling his fists clench. Shiro’s eyes cast down on the floorboards, and he re-wrapped the wound in the bandages. “I missed one day.” 

“What happened?” Keith asked, his stomach twisting and his eyes wide as he just looked at the wound. 

“When I woke up I was tied to my bed. I was surronded by these people in masks. They looked like doctors, or something like that. But they had needles in my arm, and they said this was for my own good since I didn’t take the pill. Keith, it was hell. I know it scary taking it, but it’s a lot better than what I had to go through.” 

Shiro sat down on the table, taking his glass of water, and he took the pill that was for him with ease. Shiro looked down at Keith’s chair. And Keith felt his feet move before he realised what he was doing. He sat down, and he openned up the capsule. It had one pill in it, and it was purple. Keith took the pill. 

“I’m sorry. I just don’t want to see you get hurt” Shiro said, just looking at his food. 

They ate their food in silence, the only sound the sound of their cutlery on the plates. Shiro stood up, putting their plates back in the basket, and putting in near the door. “Do you want to have the first bath or shall I?” Shiro asked. 

Keith frowned, “I want to have the first bath”  
He stood up from his place at the table, marching past Shiro as he took his toiletries and his towel. And when Shiro handed him the night shirt, Keith snatched it from his grasp. He made sure to slam the bathroom door on his way in. Keith filled the tub, mains sure the water was hot. 

He liked bathes so hot they steamed up the whole bathroom. When the bath was full, Keith stripped and he started shampooing his hair. He didn’t know why he felt his way. Shiro had seemed like nothing scared him. He was older, and taller, and Keith thought he knew a fair few things. But seeing his arm like that, and it was only for missing one day of these strange pills. 

While whole thing made no sense. He didn’t know where he was, and he didn’t know how he got here and he didn’t know if he was ever going to see the blue sky again or if he would ever see the stars or if he would just be stuck in this horrible room

And Keith missed his father. 

He missed his father so much it clogged up his throat. He sniffled, hugging his knees close to his chest. He missed his fathers hugs and the way he laughed and the way his father made everything make sense. But nothing about this made sense and he was stuck in a room with an almost total stranger. Keith left the tears fall. Shiro couldn’t hear him the bathroom anyways. He sobbed until snot ran down his nose and he coughed harshly, hiccuping from his crying. 

He felt a lot better after crying, and he washed his face and drained the bath. He put on the dress shirt, kind of happy that it fit so his modesty was preserved, But also unhappy on the fact that it was Shiro’s and that meant that he was too small for Shiro’s clothes by a mile. He walked out of the bathroom, steam wafting out of the bathroom. Shiro was doing push ups on the floor. 

“The bathroom is ready,” Keith said over his shoulder, climbing into his bed. 

Shiro stood up, smiling at Keith, “Thank you” and he walked into the bathroom.

Kith tried to make himself fall asleep but that proved to be harder than he thought it was because when he was activily focusing on it, it proved harder and harder for him to fall asleep so he wouldn’t have to talk about the pills or confusing stuff like that. But sleep didn’t come, and Shiro bathed fast. 

Shiro walked back into their room, and he got into bed, lying on his side so he could look at Keith. “I’m sorry where in this,” Shiro whispered even though their where no adults that enforced a bed time on them. 

“I’m sorry about your arm and,” Keith paused, looking up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry that you where alone.” 

“It’s okay, Kieth. This place is scary. But where in this together, okay. I promise we’ll get out of this place, together” Shiro said.

And in the darkness, Keith saw Shiro smile. Not the type of smile that said ‘I know something you don’t know’ or a fake smile that everyone gave each other. But the type of smile that said that maybe everything would be okay. And Keith smiled back, thinking to himself. Maybe everything would be okay. 

What fools they where.


	2. Six weeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this kind of blew up? hahaha thats so good so thanks for all the kudos and bookmarks and please comment and stuff bc it really helps. im kinda just trying to write as much as i can rn bc im on break from school atm so yeah onto the fanfic now

Time passed weirdly in their little room. What felt like minutes was actually hours and what felt like hours was only minutes. They found ways to entertain themselves. Working out, eating meals, brushing their teeth and bathing became ways they broke up the days. After breakfast they would work out, eat, and then brush their teeth. And then they would talk. And then after they where confident that breakfast had settled they would eat lunch and then brush their teeth again. More working out. More talking. And then dinner and their pills. 

Shiro and Keith could only guess that they had been in here for about six weeks, from what they could guess. They had no windows, and save only for the tally marks that they would carve onto the walls from their toothbrushes. But as time had drifted Keith began to hate looking at the tally marks. As if they where taunting him on how he had yet to escape from this weird nightmare with Shiro. He watched the tally marks, frowning. 

Shiro, tapped Keith’s plate. Keith looked up at him, frowning “What?” he asked. 

“Do you want to have the first bath?” he asked, smiling at Keith. 

Shiro always let Keith have the first bath. 

“You always take such hot bathes. I don’t know how you manage it,” Keith said, cleaning up their dinner. 

Keith rolled his eyes, throwing his towel over his shoulder, “Your just a baby, Shiro.”

Keith walked into the bathroom, taking off his shirt and pants. He walked over to the tub, turning on the hot water faucet. The sound of water filled the bathroom. Bathing had become their time away from each other. Shiro had suggested that they couldn’t bother each other in the bathroom and Keith quickly agreed to the rule with ease. 

Kieth shampooed his hair, mashing it into his scalp, and he scrubbed himself clean. He washed himself, and he was out in a flash, leaving behind a trail of steam as he got into bed. Shiro had his hands folded in his lap, and he smiled at the steam trail. He got up, and started walking towards the bathroom. They didn’t drain the bath after Keith used it, in fear of using up all the hot water they had. 

Shiro staggered, holding his arm as he moved. He hit the wall with a small stumble, making it looked like he had just tripped over himself. But Keith saw him, he leaned forward from his bed. “Shiro?” he gently asked the older one. 

Shiro looked over his shoulder, “I’m fine, Keith.” 

And Shiro closed the bathroom door. He heard the door lock after him. Kieth waited until Shiro got out of the bath, they usually talked before they fell asleep. But Shiro never came out the bath room. He waited for what felt like hours. And his anxiety about Shiro’s stumble became too much and he walked over to the bathroom door, knocking it. 

“Are you okay in there?” he asked. 

The bathroom remained silent. Keith felt his panic spike, and he knocked harder, repeating himself louder. Silence. And Keith started to pound as hard as he could, yelling at the top of his lungs for Shiro to say something, anything. 

Keith pulled away from the door, getting ready to break it down. He raised his foot up, aiming for the wood around the bathroom. His dad had taught him this was how he did it. And with strength Keith didn’t know he had he kicked down the door. He snap of wood further encouraging him as he beat down the door. He saw Shiro’s dark place locks in the bathtub, and his head looked to be limp. 

Keith screamed at Shiro to wake up, finally getting into the bathroom. He crawled over to Shiro, the steam hanging heavy in the air. Shiro was limp in the bathtub, the bandages around him like a trail. The bandages where bloody, and they smelled like off meat. But Shiro was the worst. 

His arm had gotten worse. The veins around his arm looked black, like the roots on the plant. And the flesh looked like an ugly mix of purple and yellow, bleeding into each other. Puss floated in the water, along with blood that looked too black. Keith shrieked, feeling his stomach drop into his chest. He wrapped his arms around Shiro’s chest, trying his best to drag Shiro out of the bath. 

He shouldn’t be in this infected dirty water. He tried to lift Shiro out of the bath, but Shiro proved too heavy for him on his first attempt. His night shirt was soaked as Shiro’s body dropped back into the tub, splashing Keith. But he didn’t care, he tried to grab Shiro again, trying to use the edge of the tub to leverage Shiro’s much heavier body out of the tub. He cursed himself, gritting his Keith fro not checking up on Shiro sooner, angry that he had wasted all his strength forcing down the door. 

But leveraging Shiro’s body on the edge of the tub proved to work, and Shiro slid out, and Keith tried to cushion Shiro’s head with Keith’s own. He started to drag the older one into their room, begging Shiro to wake up with tears in his eyes. Keith moved Shiro to the side of his bed, and he used the last of his strength, trying his bed to get Shiro into bed while not hurting his head or his arm. He looked around, trying to think of something to use as a new bandage on Shiro. He spotted Shiro’s blanket and he ripped it up, wrapping up Shiro’s arm in the way he had seen the older one do it. 

He needed to keep Shiro warm, or did he need to wake him up? More panic thoughts slipped into his mind. What if Shiro never woke up? What if Keith had hit Shiro’s head and made it all the more worse? The panic made him shake, tears of anger and fear rolling down his cheeks. He put Shiro’s covers on him, tucking him in. Then he moved the nightstand that separated their beds and pushed them together. 

Keith stripped off his wet clothes as he crawled into bed, warping his covers around himself and Shiro. He brought Shiro’s hands to his laps, breathing on them, trying to warm them up. He made sure that Shiro wasn’t lying on his infected arm. Keith hated himself for not noticing how bad Shiro’s arm had gotten, angry that he should have seen something, anything. He stayed like that for a while, trying to warm Shiro up and trying to get him awake for hours. Any small thing felt like a victory, Shiro groaning, or if his eyes moved from underneath his eyelids. 

“Please wake up, Shiro. Please,” Keith begged him, voice horse and rough as he looked at Shiro face. 

Keith woke when he felt Shiro’s body move. His eyes snapped open, and widened in shock. There where three people in their room, two holding Shiro by both his arms, and one watching them with what looked like a gun. But he saw how one of the guards held Shiro’s arm, with such roughness and Keith pulled his teeth back with a snarl. 

“Don’t you touch him,” he yelled, charging at the guard. His tackle was interrupted by the other guard the other two, forcing him down on the ground. The guard took something out that looked like it was no more the size of handheld phone, but Keith’s eyes widened as he saw it buzz to life with electricity. He thrashed harder, trying to get out of the guards grip, and the small taser buzzed with life. Keith looked back at Shiro, who was being dragged out of their room by the guards. 

“Don’t take him!” He yelled, furious, trying to claw his way to Shiro. He couldn’t loose Shiro. Not Shiro. He hadn’t found a way out of this place and he couldn’t save Shiro. Tears filled his eyes as he shrieked, “Please don’t take him away.” 

The taser came down onto his neck, and he let out a strangled scream, feeling his body thrash around on the floor as best as it could under the guards grip. The taser was removed as quickly as it had been placed down on him. His head slammed onto the ground, and through blurred vision, he saw Shiro leave their room. 

The door that lead out of their room slid open, showing a hallway that looked like it was from a film. It was control panels that glowed a mix of purple and reds. How curious. He breathed weakly, panting in pain. He heard a voice speak up. Perhaps there had been more than three people in their room? It was the first new voice that Keith had heard in a while so it startled him just enough to stay awake. He hung on every world that the voice spoke.

“Moron, you where instructed to not harm the other subject,” they hissed, their voice reminding Keith of the voice of someone who had inhaled too much smoke. 

“I had no choice, Haggar. It was going to hurt itself trying to get to the other subject,” another voice said. 

An angry silence filled the room. The guard got off of Keith, and the two left the room. Keith crawled into their beds, pained whimpers as he tried to make himself fall asleep and trying to forget about the pain he was in and the worry he felt for Shiro. He wanted to see Shiro so badly it made his chest tighten up. He cried again, sobbing into his pillow as he wrapped his arms around Shiro’s pillow, cocooning himself in their covers. 

Kieth woke up, feeling miserably and hungry. He looked around for the basket, opening it up for his breakfast. It one had enough food for one person. This made Keith’s mood all the more foul. He sat in the corner, eating his breakfast in large bites. He searched through the basket, finding his pill container. He spotted it, throwing it as hard as he could at the door to outside. It bounced off the door, clanging onto the ground. 

But at the bottom of the book was something new. It looked like a tablet. And it had a headset on it. He picked it up, looking over at it. He took it to the beds, and he still kept pushed together, just for the sake of room of course. Keith sat cross legged, trying to turn it on. Sure enough, it flicked with life. 

‘Place hand on the screen’ 

He placed his hand on it. It flashed in a second. It showed his face, and his name and how old he was and how much he weighed. And it was had something on it ‘pilot subject’. He tossed it away from him, along with the headphones, panicked. He walked away from it, deicing to brush his teeth and he started to work out. 

He couldn’t let himself worry. Shiro was tough, and he could beat whatever was happening. He shouldn’t think about it, Keith ordered to himself as he did push ups until his hands hurt and his abs where killing him. He kept on repeating to himself that Shiro was okay as sweat raced down his back. He sat on the floor, panting, heaving in every breath he could. He gulped down his milk, and then water. He laid down on Shiro’s side of the bed, his head resting on Shiro’s pillow. He slept, but he woke up alone again. 

He part on his dully ached, and he knew he would just injure himself if he forced himself to workout again. He sighed, picking up the tablet again. He put the headphones on, letting the tablet flick with light. It showed his name again, along with other information about him. 

It looked to be a manual of some sort. It had information about how to fly something. Keith found it to be a tough read but since he had no other source of stimulation, and he was not hungry. So he slowly read it, flicking between the pages on the tablet. 

‘Class A-51 Red fighter’

That was what Keith was learning how to fly. A ship? This was perfect, he was holding in his hands the way him and Shiro could get out. Spurred on by this new lead on how to get out, he divided into the tablet, pouring over everything, trying to burn everything into his memory as best as he could. He would learn how to fly this thing. And then he would find Shiro and then he could take Shiro to a doctor where he would get all better. 

After a while of reading the tablet, Keith slid off the headphones and place the tablet on the bed. He ate dinner, looking at the pill container from his seat. He left Shiro’s seat alone on purpose. Keith felt bad for sleeping in Shiro’s bed and moving their beds, since he wanted everything to be just as it was for when Shiro got back. 

But he doubted he would happy with Keith if he had to have the same thing done to him just because Keith had refused to take the pills when he was supposed to. Keith walked over to it, picking it up. He couldn’t get injured like Shiro, he needed to protect Shiro and he couldn’t do that with an injury. 

He took it. Keith threw the bottle again. It shattered this time.


	3. Six months

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So thank you to everyone who has been commenting yall are the realest ogs and to everyone who has been kudos and bookmarking yall are keeping it sexy and swaggy

Keith tried to keep his mind occupied with training and readinf and sleeping. Anything and everything sounded like it was Shiro walking through the door. He learnt to ignore most of them, only teasing thoughts of his imagination that Shiro had returned. And he was lonely. It was like he was missing a part of himself without Shiro.

Shiro came back after a month. 

Keith’s eyes glanced up from the tablet, hearing the door open and someone walk into his and Shiro’s room. There Shiro stood, taller than ever and he looked tired. His arm was wrapped in a bandage. Keith raced over to him, smile wide and wrapping his arms around Shiro’s chest. 

Shiro stiffened in the hug, his back straightening but then he wrapped his arms around Keith. They stayed like that for a while, arms wrapped around each other, and just basking in the other presences. 

Keith was the first to pull away, looking at Shiro, he had dark bags underneath his eyes, and his cheeks looked hallow. His dark hair had gotten longer, just as Keith’s black hair had gotten longer. Keith guided Shiro to the table, and he reached into the basket and setting his lunch down in front of Shiro. 

“Keith, this is yours. I can’t eat this,” Shiro said, looking from the food between him and Keith. 

Keith shook his head, “No, Shiro. I want you to eat it, please.” he said, pushing the food closer to Shiro, nodding his head at the older one. 

Keith saw Shiro only eat with one hand. The healthy hand. Keith’s mind flashed back to the bathroom, thinking about Shiro in the tub. Limp and lifeless. They hadn’t gotten a new door to the bathroom since Keith broke down the door. He couldn’t take a bath for three days after Shiro was taken. The only thing he did was eat, sleep, train, and read the tablet. 

Shiro ate the meal, Keith watching him in silence. Once Shiro finished, he looked around the room. Shiro looked at their beds pressed two each other. Keith felt embarrassed, looking down at the floor. “I was meaning to separate them,” he mumbled.

His eyes spotted the growing tally marks on the wall, and he looked over at Keith.   
“You where gone for a month,” he said to Shiro. 

The room feel into a silence, not the usual silence that they had grown used to with each other. Like they where waiting for the other to finished a story that they didn’t know they where saying. Keith had grown used to waiting for Shiro and managing what he was going to say to Shiro but know that he was there and in front of him. All he could do was just watch Shiro. 

Shiro looked down at the plate of food, his stomach feeling full for the first time in what felt like years. His stomach almost felt too full. He didn’t know what to say to Keith. His arm throbbed in pain. Like the dull ache of someone running a cold ice cube on your teeth after they had been brushed, but it was one the bone. 

“What did they do to you, Shiro?” Keith asked. 

The silence broke. 

Shiro moved his bandages around his arm, like he was peeking through the curtains to watch to the first snowfall. Like even looking at it would make it disappear. In the small gap of bandages, Keith saw it. His eyes widened, and his stomach twisted. It was metal, and wire. 

A tears rolled down Shiro’s cheeks, covering his arm. His head dropped, letting out a soft sob. Keith felt tears fill his eyes as well. He stood up, and he hugged Shiro. Shiro wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist, burying his face into his stomach, sobs making his body shake. Kieth cried as well, holding Shiro. 

“I’m sorry, Shiro. I should have noticed your arm,” Kieth sobbed. “I missed you so much,” He cried. 

Shiro’s head shock in the hug, “No, its not Kieth” he sobbed. “And I missed you too. I was so worried about you and if they had done anything to you.” 

Kieth found it kind of funny. Shiro had lost his arm because of them, but he was worried about Keith. He tightened his hug around Shiro, sniffing Shiro’s hair. Nothing in the room smelled like Shiro anymore, and the things that used to, Kieth hugged and sniffed until it stopped smelling like him. 

They pulled away when Shiro stopped crying, his eyes puffy and red. They smiled at each other. He couldn’t remember ever being this happy to see another person. His face hurt from a mix of smiling and crying. Keith went over to the two beds, and he separated them and placed the night stand back between them. Shiro laid down on his bed, sighing deeply. 

Shiro looked at the nightstand, holding up the tablet, “What’s this?” he asked, looking it over. 

Keith looked over his shoulder, watching as Shiro examined the tablet. He padded over to Shiro, “It came in the basket when they took you. I think it’s a manual for a fighter jet, or something like that,” he said, standing at the side of Shiro bed. 

“Can I try it?” Shiro asked, moving over on his bed, patting a spot for Keith. 

Keith nodded, sitting on the bed with Shiro. The bed creaked underneath their joint, which made them pause for a moment but they shrugged. “So place your hand on the screen,” Keith instructed, and Shiro placed his flesh hand on the screen. 

Keith explained how to start the tablet, and that it would tell them about how much Shiro weighed, his height and how old he was. “And now it’ll say the ship your learning how to fly. I’m learning how to fly the red fighter,” Keith explained. 

‘Class A-51 Black fighter’  
‘Class A-51 gladiatorial training’ 

They starred at the screen, starring at the two selections on the screen. Shiro looked over at Kieth, awaiting an explanation. “I just got the Red fighter,” Keith paused, reading over at the second option. “I have no idea what gladiatorial training is,” he mumbled. 

Shiro pressed the gladiator training. They watched with baited breath as it loaded. It had training exercises, and it showed them weapons and how to use the weapons. It showed a variety of how to use the weapons but also a variety of weapons that Keith and Shiro had never seen before. Shiro turned off the tablet, setting it down. They stayed silent for a moment, just letting the silence hang in the air. 

“Do you think they’ll make me fight?’ Shiro asked, looking over at Keith. His eyes looked worried, still red form crying. 

Keith looked at the tablet, fists clenched. “Maybe,” he said. “But they wouldn’t put you into dangerous fights at the start,” Keith said, trying to sound confident. When both he and Shiro knew that he didn’t know the answer and that he was just lying. 

Keith went back to his bed, picking up his night shirt and toiletries. “I’m going to go take a bath,” he mumbled. He went the bath, turning on the hot water. He looked over at the place on where the door should be, sighing. It was great having Shiro back but with the door gone and that that their privacy rule for the bathroom was gone. 

Keith bathed quickly, always glancing over his shoulder to look at the bathroom door, watching as the steam gently flowed out of the bathroom and into their room. Once he finished, and drying himself, and he put on the nightshirt. He remembered when Shiro gave it to him.

He walked back into their room, and Shiro stood up from his bed and walked past Keith. He diapered into the bathroom and Keith heard the sound of Shiro getting into the water. As he laid in bed he felt some anxiety swirl in his stomach. The last time Shiro had been in the bath he nearly died. Keith assured himself that since they no longer had a door he could just go in a check on him. 

But at the same time maybe Shiro just wanted to be alone. Keith sighed, picking up the tablet and letting it scan his hand. He might as well distract himself with reading. Shiro would be fine. H thought to himself. He was reading about how to active the driver thrust, and he had gone over the material three times but the words kept on escaping him. 

He put down the tablet, walking over the bathroom. He knocked on the wall as hard as he could, waiting for Shiro. “Keith? Is everything alright?” he heard Shiro from the bathroom. 

A sigh of relief escaped his lips, and he turned to walk away, calling out to Shiro, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you. I just got worried about you,” he said. 

“Could you help me with my bandages?” Shiro asked, and Keith turned around and walked back to the bathroom. 

Shiro had drained the tub, and he had his sleeping pants. Shiro’s hair was dripping wet, and he sat on the edge of the tub. Keith looked at Shiro’s metal arm, and at the skin around his arm. It seemed to match Shiro’s body, that they had taken time to make sure to make it a copy of his flesh arm. They could have just saved his arm, and not cut it off, Keith thought angrily, teeth clenched. 

The metal arm went almost up to Shiro’s shoulder, and the skin that meet the metal was angry and red, like it had been burnt. It was going to leave a deep scar. Keith looked down on the floor. Shiro didn’t want to be starred at by him. 

But Keith walked closer to Shiro, picking up the bandages on the floor. They where clean, not even a drop of blood had touched them. But he still picked them up, and walked over to Shiro. They slowly wrapped his arm, making sure that the bandages would not slip or fall off while Shiro slept. They worked in silence together. 

“When they took me. I saw other rooms,” Shiro whispered in the steam. 

Keith froze before he went back to work, careful to break the silence. “It all all types of rooms, and the through the doors they can watch us. It had names on all the doors, we’re called the human room. And when they took me to the medical wing,” Shiro stiffened a sob. 

“They said I could lose the arm, or die.” 

Keith felt his eyes water again as he finished the bandages. He sat next to Shiro, leaning on his flesh arm. Feeling his warmth along with the warmth of the steam in the bathroom. “I’m glad you didn’t die,” he whispered. 

“I couldn’t leave you alone in our room,” Shiro whispered, not looking at him. 

“I don’t want you to die, Shiro. And I don’t want to be alone.” Keith said, his throat tight. “I don’t want you to die in a gladiator ring, and I don’t ever want to leave you. I want to escape and I want to escape with you.” he cried, sobbing into his hands. 

Shiro hugged him, his cheeks wet as well. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to us. I’ll train so I’ll be prepared for the rings. And you’ll learn how to fly the red fighter so when they slip, we can escape together. I can’t imagine a world without being by your side, Keith.” 

They hugged for a few more moments, before pulling away. Sweat ran down Keith’s back from the hot steam, and Shiro’s bandages felt slightly damp to the touch. They walked out of the bathroom, and they got into their bed. Shiro picked up the tablet, letting it scan his flesh hand. 

Keith watched Shiro as he read from the tablet before he turned away from the light source, falling into a deep slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah im really liking how the fic is going and im planing on writing a bit more since school is out and im fairly cetrain i failed fucking evything so also kinda thinking of taking a break from school just bc im exhausted from all of it and also yeah this is like a slow burn sooooo while i do want to write stuff about their romance i do want them to kinda grow up bc they are still like under 15 in this rn so yeah a bit more growing up but on god there will be some like sex or whatever.


	4. A year

With Shiro back, they settled back into their old routine, with slight changes. When Keith woke up, he’d wake up Shiro. They brushed their teeth, and then they ate. They would take turns on who got to use the tablet first, Shiro got it on even days and Keith got it on odd days. They sat at the table together, both of them reading it over and talking about the material together.

Keith found that it really deepened his understanding over the ships when he could talk about it with Shiro, even if they where just paraphrasing what had been said on the tablet. 

Then training. They started to follow the workouts that the tablet suggested Shiro do, and Keith did them as well. They where different from what they had been doing, there exercises before where all about tiring themselves out and making them sweat. Which made them stay at the same weight, and in Keith’s case made him lose some weight. Which worried Shiro, who would grumble that they should get more rations. 

But the gladiator exercises that Shiro and him where doing where all about muscles. All about muscles and all about becoming stronger and stronger everyday. So much so that Shiro’s and Keith’s muscle started to build. Sweat ran down Keith’s face as he stopped push ups and instead settled on the floor. 

Shiro was next to him, doing push ups with only his flesh hand. He had said there was no point in doing push ups with his metal arm and that he shouldn’t build a reliance on a crutch. Shiro stopped doing his push ups, looking over at Keith. “Come on, you’ll be angry at yourself that you didn’t finish this set. And you’ll be sore that you didn’t do the cool downs.” 

Keith sighed, getting back into form and started doing push ups again. But he still enjoyed this. Then they would have lunch, and who ever didn’t have their turn in the morning would get a chance to review the material on the tablet. 

More talking. They talked about what their parents where like, and if they had any siblings. About what schools they went to, and what they wanted to be when they got older. Shiro, ironically enough, said that he wanted to be a fighter jet pilot before this happened to them. It kind of hurt talking about his father, and how much he missed him. But it was nice talking about him, it made him feel better knowing Shiro still missed family and his parents. 

They also talked about the jets they where learning on to fly and what they imagined they where going to be like. 

“I think my jet will be red, that’s why I’m called the red fighter,” Keith said, enjoying the thought of himself in a red themed pilots uniform.

“Then that would make me the black pilot.” Shiro said, arms crossed over his head. “I think the black pilot is the leader of something. In the tablet it makes it seem like the black pilot leads a crew of four people underneath them, or something like that” 

The thought of being around three other new people make Keith's stomach twist unhappily and the air on the back of his neck raise. He didn't know why that feeling over took him so suddenly. But the mere though of just being around strangers that they didn’t know filled him with anxiety. What if they where enemies and had just been sent to hurt them. More of those thoughts nagged at his brain, and Keith looked down at his hands. 

“I’d make you my right hand, Keith.” Shiro said out of the blue. 

Keith jerked his head up, looking at Shiro from his bed. “Really?” he asked, trying not to sound super hopeful when he asked. 

“You’d probably be the only person who could fly the black jet.” Shiro said, his voice logical to the point.

Keith looked back down at the floor, feeling embarrassed. Like he had exposed too much of himself. He got underneath the covers, sighing. “That makes sense, Shiro. I’d want you to fly the red jet if anything ever happened to me as well,” he mumbled, turning his back to Shiro. 

Keith’s cheeks felt warm and his stomach was twisting. Not like the stomach ache of anxiety but like he hadn’t eaten. But he had his dinner and the stupid pills.

They still took the pills. The aftermath of Shiro missing a pill was him loosing an arm. They didn’t talk about the pills. It became like the missing stair in the house. They saw the pills the basket, and they set the pills next to their meals. It was like the pills where a small crack in glass that they knew about and couldn’t fix. 

Keith missed his home, but being with Shiro made the place bearable, even enjoyable. It was like Shiro and him connected. Like no one could understand him like Shiro did. So it kind of stung when Shiro would make him his right hand just because he knew the material for the black jet. He thought it was deeper. 

He got out of bed, walking over to the bathroom and turning on the hot water. He took longer than he used to, and his fingers pruned up. He shouldn’t care about the right hand man thing. He shouldn’t. But he still did and it frustrated him that he cared so much about it. Because it was Shiro. And he stupidly cared about what Shiro said. 

Getting out of the bathroom, he saw Shiro lying in bed. But it didn’t look like Shiro was sleeping. He had the cover pulled over him and he was softly whimpering. Keith felt the towel that he was holding fall from his grasp. 

“Shiro?” he called out quietly as he padded over to him. 

Shiro looked up at Keith, his eyes red and teary eyed. Keith nearly ran to him, on his knees by Shiro’s bedside. Shiro held his metal arm like a burn, tears rolling down his cheeks as looked up at Keith. 

“It hurts so much,” Shiro said, trying to hide how much pain he was in. 

Phantom pain became the thing they worried about. And the only thing they could do was brace for it. They didn’t get pain killers, or anything other than food and pills. So Keith would put cold hand towels on Shiro’s forehead and along the part of his metal arm where metal meet flesh. 

Kieth pushed their beds together, and Shiro leaned into Keith like he was a life force. Keith ran his hands through Shiro’s hair as he cried. He said he was sorry that he was being weak, and he was sorry that Keith had to look after him like this. 

“I don’t care. I would do this for you Shiro,” Keith said, looking into Shiro’s eyes. 

“Why?” Shiro asked, like it was something so impossible. 

“Because it’s you”

They fell asleep together, their beds pressed together. Keith dreamed about their room, and that he was in it. But the walls started to move. And he slowly moved so he was standing on one of the walls, and the room kept on moving. Shiro appeared in the dream. He was sitting on his bed, the tablet in his lap. Keith was standing on the ceiling, looking up at Shiro. 

“Keith, are you okay?” dream Shiro asked. 

He didn’t know how to answer the question.

“Keith, are you going to wake up?” Shiro asked, shaking Keith awake. Keith groggily looked around, seeing that they where both on the floor together. And that there was no chance that they where going to move anytime soon. 

“What the hell, man,” Keith groggily groaned, pushing at Shiro. He tried to pull the covers over his head, only to have be engaged in a tug of war with Shiro over them. 

Which Shiro won but only because he was awake. Keith groaned at the lose of the covers, feeling for more covers, only to discover that Shiro had removed them as well. He leaned forward, looking around the room. Which looked different. The table and the chairs where stack neatly in a corner, and the nightstand was also pushed against the wall. 

“I’m moving the beds now get up,” Shiro said, as he moved the two beds with ease. 

The beds slid across the floor, groaning in protest and Keith watched as Shiro push them. They where up against the wall in no time and Keith got out of the beds, looking at the big open space in their room. Keith spun around the room, arms stretched out. 

Shiro walked over to him, humming out loud as he got closer to Keith. Their eyes meet and they started to dance, humming to a tune they didn’t know. They didn't have a radio, or anything to play music so they just kept on humming as they moved. Shiro took Keith hands as they moved, speeding up as they danced. 

They just pulled their arms back and forth as they moved, their legs copying the other one’s movements. Speeding up, moving across the room, with their arms moving. Then Shiro put their chest together and they both looked dramatically into a direction doing a very crude parody of what they thought the salsa was. Keith and Shiro had big grins across their faces as they moved, dancing to their own tunes. 

They changed positions again, Shiro wrapping his arms across Keith’s waist. Keith put his hands on Shiro’s shoulders, and they started to sway together. The humming became silence as they swayed together. Keith thought of the first time they met. His eyes glanced to the bathroom, remembering that they used to have a door there. The swaying stopped. 

They looked into each others eyes, and they closed the distance as they hugged each other. Tight. Like the other was the only force in the world that could never hurt them. 

“You make this place not seem as bad as it is,” Shiro mumbled. 

“When you where gone. I missed you so much it hurt,” Keith mumbled as well.

It was like too much noise would break whatever spell had taken over them. He sniffed Shiro. They smelt so alike all things considered but there was still something about the way he smelled that so always so distinctively Shiro. He rested his head on Shiro’s shoulders, and Shiro rested his head a top of Keith’s. 

Keith didn’t realize that he had closed his eyes, but they fluttered open. 

The first thing he saw where the three hundred and sixty five tally marks carved into the wall. A year. A full year had passed. And the only thing that had happened to them was Shiro loosing an arm and them reading on some stupid tablet. His chest tightened unhappily as he rubbed his face into Shiro’s shoulder, feeling his chest tightened. 

The spell had been broken. They moved the furniture back into where it was supposed to be. And they moved their beds back to where they where supposed to be, with a nightstand placed between them. And like always, just behind their beds where all the tally marks. Proof that they where trapped. 

They ate dinner together in silence together. Shiro would glance up at Keith from time to time and smile at him. It was good. They took their pills, and Keith got ready to take his bath and Shiro picked up the tablet and laid down his bed. 

“Keith?” Shiro gently called out to him from their room.

Keith glanced up, letting the hot water fill the bath as he walked back over to Shiro. As he walked over to Shiro, he saw how pale Shiro was. He held the tablet with shaking hands, and he looked up at Keith his panicked eyes. 

“I’m being sent to the righting rings, Keith,” Shiro whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> on gawd im so sorry for how long its been its just life has been pouring salt on me and i am a slug. so yeah pwease be nice to me bc im a sensitive little flower


	5. A year and a day

Keith felt his stomach drop at the idea of Shiro going into the fighting rings.

Being surrounded by strangers that where going to hurt him or at least leer at him and watch. Watching Shiro as he was going to fight someone. Maybe he was going to fight someone else who was also trapped in a room just like they are. But that didn’t matter to Keith that Shiro could be fighting someone who was also suffering just like they where at the hands of their captors. 

All that mattered to him was that Shiro was going to come home. 

Back to their home with tally marks on the walls. 

Keith sat by Shiro’s side, tossing away the tablet on to one of their beds like it was a dangerous bomb. Like he was throwing it away and it didn’t matter anymore. Keith wanted to smash it. He wanted to smash it into a million pieces. But he knew then they wouldn’t be able to learn how to fly the jets and how to get out. 

So he merely let Shiro wrap his arms around him. Keith leaned into the hug, wrapping his arms around Shiro’s neck. Warmth. Shiro was so warm. Keith nuzzled into Shiro’s embrace.

His mind felt like it was going blank. Like when he was around Shiro. Everything just seemed to fade away. Like nothing in the world could matter besides being with Shiro and their home together. He felt Shiro’s breath on his neck and Keith felt something in his stomach flip. He wanted more but he didn’t know what he wanted. And before he could say what he wanted the hug would always stop. 

Keith looked down to the floor, he felt embarrassed but he didn’t know why. He quickly looked at Shiro, who was looking very intensely at the floor. Keith stood up, moving the beds back to their places with the nightstand separating them. 

“I’m going to star the bath,” Keith said, quickly looking at Shiro and back to the bathroom. 

Shiro nodded, going over to his bed and getting under the covers. 

Keith made his bath especially hot, until his skin was bright pink. Why was he acting like this? It was Shiro for gods sake. The only person in the world he could trust. The only person who trusted him to fly the black jet if anything happened to him. Shiro who was patient with Keith when he first met him. The Shiro he dragged out of the very bathtub he was sitting it.

It was Shiro for gods sake. 

Keith got out of the bath. 

Shiro was lying in Keith’s bed. His eyes where closed but he had his face in Keith’s pillow, breathing it in deeply. Keith stood at the doorway of the bathroom, just watching Shiro. Shiro only would adjust how he was laying on the bed, but other then that, nothing in the room moved. 

Shiro soon felt Keith’s stare on him and he jerked away from Keith’s bed, standing up straight. His face was hot, and he quickly rubbed his mouth with his sleeve, starring at Keith. Keith also looked away from Shiro, choosing to look at the table. 

“Sorry, I was just,” Shiro stuttered out, like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “I was- I just wanted to remember your smell for when I go into the rings. That’s all.” Shiro mumbled, sitting down on his own bed. 

Keith walked over to his own bed, maybe all Shiro wanted was to swap beds.   
“Do you want to swap beds for the night?” Keith asked Shiro, still looking at the pillow that Shiro smothered his face into. 

“Yes,” Shiro said quickly, standing up from his beds. “We don’t have to move anything, we have the same stuff.” 

Keith nodded, getting onto Shiro’s bed. He felt the bed, testing out the spring on it. The dip in the center of the bed felt deeper, but that was probably because of Shiro’s weight. As Kieth pulled the covers up to his chest, he handed the tablet over to Shiro. It was his turn. 

“No, you can have it. I want to go to bed early,” Shiro said, waving his hand away from it. 

Keith smiled, happily letting it scan his hand. He had just gotten to a very interesting part in the manual about the blasters and he got the feeling the red fighter had another trick up it’s sleeve. But his mind wavered. 

He didn’t know why Shiro was embarrassed about about the whole bed thing. He, embarrassingly, did the same thing while Shiro was gone. Even though they most likely smelt the same to anyone else, Keith still knew they had differences. And it was that difference that made Keith feel sane. Or maybe Shiro had just gotten sick of his bed and wanted a change. 

Keith placed the tablet on the bedside table, pulling the covers over his shoulders, snuggling into sleep. He dreamed about Shiro, about Shiro in the fighting pits. He dreamed that Shiro was in a room, and he would fight someone, and then he would just go into another room where he would fight someone else. 

Keith awoke to the sound of new footsteps on the floor. He knew instantly that someone else was in their home. Keith slowly looked around the room, trying not to be suspicious as his eyes scanned the room. There was the hooded figure and Keith could tell it was the same woman who had been in their room the first time. 

“I see the Alpha and the Omega are developing quite the connection,” she hummed, looking over them with glowing golden eyes. Like they where pieces of meat to her. 

“Do you think separating them would hurt the bond? I hear humans take many lovers,” another voice spoke up, their voice strained, like they had inhaled smoke that had burnt away at their lungs. 

“No, they have been taking the pills so their biology has been changed enough for it to advance to that of the galra’s. I believe the omega has a stronger taking to the genetic change, make a note to a do a blood test, and an ancestors test as well for the omega. It could just be because the omega started the change earlier than their alpha but no still shall be left un-turnt” the woman noted, like she was speaking to herself almost. 

“How are their studies as flyers of the red and black lions?” she asked quickly. 

Lions? What the hell was going on. Keith desperately wanted to shake the woman and find out what was going on. But the place on where he had been tazzed tingled as a reminder of going up against them unprepared. He wish he had his toothbrush, he could try to stab one of them. But it was in the bathroom. 

“Exceptionally well. We believe they will both be ready for VR combat experience in time for the upcoming attack of the Alteans. We believe they will both be ready to attack the threats to the empire together as a mated pair. And I believe placing them in a team together will be most advantageous” the voice said hopefully. 

It reminded Keith of a dog wanting to get a treat. 

But talk of VR? And who was the Alpha and who was the Omega. So where they Galrians? Or at least they where in training to fight for them at least and to fight against an enemy known at the Alteans. Mated pair. 

More thoughts of Shiro and himself being weaponized for an empire they didn’t even know. For an empire that they where prisoners to. But they kept speaking. 

“Wake up the alpha. Start uploading the biology of the Galra’s onto their learning device. I imagine their already getting ideas on what they want to do to their other halves” The woman said. It almost sounded like a joke. 

“Yes, Haggar. Gladiator, on your feet.” The voice said, barking at Shiro like he was a dog. 

Keith heard the sound of Shiro getting up. He heard Shiro walking over to where he was laying down, pretending to be asleep while all this happened. Keith felt Shiro run his flesh hand down Keith’s form from over the covers. Keith felt Shiro press his body down onto him, his face against the side of Keith’s head. 

Of course Shiro knew he was faking it. 

“Don’t do anything reckless until I get back,” Shiro mumbled, trying to keep his voice hidden from the intruders. 

Keith wanted to hug Shiro and tell him that he was going to make it. But him making a scene would just hurt Shiro. He needed to be patient. But he grinned his teeth, his blood boiling. They where weapons to the Galra. They weren’t humans in their eyes, just a unit that would kill for them. Kieth thought about hurting the Haggar woman, making her pay for taking Shiro’s arm, making her pay for all the pain that she had caused them.   
And it was like Shiro knew him as he knew himself. 

“Patience yields focus, Keith” 

And just like that.   
Shiro was gone once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i can explain why ive been gone. its bc my ex is a bastard. so yeah im sorry if this is super short i just wanted to really like idk i like this chapter. i feel like its starting to introduce the budding sexual side of their relationship?   
so new chap will be in shiros point of view in the fighting pits so stay tunned kings and queens


	6. Always there

As Shiro moved through the strange and new surroundings of his prison. His stomach turned as he looked over his shoulder and saw Keith and his home becoming farther and farther out of sight. But the hallways that he was walking through seemed to make his stomach squeeze. It reminded him of being dragged to the medical bay when his arm became infected.

When it needed to be cut off to save him.

But they where taking him to another area, something new. But instead of being happy that he was getting new stimulation but it only made his stomach twist. He could feel nervous sweat on his neck as he moved with the guards. He quickly ingrained the turns they where making as they moved to the fighting rings. 

Right turn, left, right, two doors down.

When they got there Shiro laid his eyes on. 

Not much. 

It was empty, all it was just training equipment, weights, a few weapons with blunted ends. But there was a caged door to what Shiro would assume was the real gladiatorial sparring rings. They pushed him into the room, closing the door after them. He could see a window double sided where they could watch him use the equipment. Of course they wanted to see him use the weights. 

They where assessing him

Shiro stood there dumb founded for a second before he started walking towards the weight bench. He looked at medium sized weight and started to lift it but it felt a lot lighter than he expected. He placed the weight back down and moved fro a more heavier weight. He started lifting it, counting his reps when he heard the door open again. 

His eyes quickly glanced at the open door, scanning the new person. 

They appeared humanoid at the least. Shiro chose to watch as the new person moved around. They never took their eyes off each other, scanning the other for any signs of aggression. There stance was broken by the door once again opening, and it seemed very ten minutes the door would open and a new face would come into the room. 

Shiro hated it. 

He hated it so much. 

Before all this happened he would have liked this, being around new people, and seeing all of this training equipment he had never seen before. But all it did was fan the growing anxiety in his stomach. All he could think about was Keith. That Keith was alone in their room, and he was in this growing crammed room with people he didn’t know and people he, to be frank, didn’t want to know. 

It seemed every knew face was just as confused as he was about their situation. And almost every new face seemed to be bigger, or at least have more muscles. Then what seemed to be ten minutes of being in a cramped room full of weights and total strangers who came into the room rather willingly, something new happened. 

A human was dragged into the room. 

He was of average height and he had ginger hair. Shiro craned his head to look at him, moving through the crowd to get closer to the new human. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, excitedly increasing his pace. 

Then Shiro saw why the new person was dragged into the room. 

He was tied up.

“Are you okay?” Shiro asked, his hands moving before he could think, fingers digging into the restraints.

“I’m fine- and thank you,” the new person said, also struggling into the restraints. 

The restraints proved pretty quick work for two people digging and tearing at them. The remains of the restraints dropped onto the group, and the person stretched his arms out, letting blood flow back into them. He grinned at Shiro, extending his hand to him. Shiro looked at his hand, seeing as it did not appear injured, or he was giving Shiro anything. 

“You shake it. My hand, I mean, You shake it,” he said. Shiro saw the extended hands fingers flex. 

Shiro flushed, letting out a nervous laugh as he shook his hand.

Of course he didn’t remember all social cues and norms. I mean, he had been in this place for a year. And all of his human contact was Keith. Sue him if he forgot somethings from time to time about meeting new people. 

“Matt Holt,” the new person, Matt Holt, said to him. 

“Takashi Shirogane. But please call me Shiro, Keith does,” he said back to him, mentioning Keith before he knew he had. Shiro stood there and then Matt’s face lit up again as the mention of Keith. And for some random reason, it made something in the back of Shiro’s mind bare it’s teeth. 

“You have a roommate too” Matt asked, and Shiro nodded.

“That’s a relief. I was worried I was only one who had one,” Matt said, and they moved so they had their backs to the wall, talking to each other. 

The room proved to still have a charged energy too it. Shiro wasn’t really surprised at it, they had been taken from their cells and forced into a room full of people that they didn’t know, they where being watched by the guards, and their was a very obvious caged door to what would only be violence. Shiro was surprised it was as calm as it was. 

“How long have you been in here?” Shiro asked, looking over at Matt. 

He watched Matt’s body first, he wanted to see if Matt would rub at a wound that their captors had given him. Or if he would clench his fists, and grind his teeth because of how long they had been in here. Prisoners. But Matt’s face never changed, all he did was keep looking at the crowd, watcching the other faces. 

He turned over to face Shiro, “Two weeks,”   
Shiro felt like a weight had been pushed into his stomach. Shiro clenched his jaw and he clenched it hard. Only two weeks? How long had the others been in here, maybe even a shorter amount of time then Matt had. Shiro looked at Matt’s body, eyeing his muscles and his form. 

Skin and bones. He could have taken down Matt when his arm was being cut off. Now that it had been pointed out that maybe some of these people hadn’t been prisoners for as long as Keith and himself where, he could spot the ones that had been here for as long as he was. They never took their eyes off of the mirror, or the door. Twitchy. 

The door that they had all come through slid open, and four guards walked in, all holding batons that would spark with electricity randomly. The prisoners starred at them, clearing out of the way of the guards. The air hung heavy for a second, watching each other. Shiro could feel his metal hand feel for a nice weight to use as a weapon. 

He would just run back to his home if it all blew to hell, and then they would barricade their home if their was riot. They’d probably hid in the bathroom. He just needed to keep Keith and himself safe that was all he needed to do. 

One of the prisoners that looked like they hadn’t been here for long jumped on one of the guards. Shiro knew it was going to happen, he saw how jumpy he was, and how he was eyeing those batons thinking he could probably take them. It was only a bit of electricity. 

The guard moved fast, way faster than the prisoner had been. They brought down the baton down on their head, and Shiro heard a crack. The prisoner dropped onto the ground, holding their eye, and screaming. The guard moved closer to the prisoner and then they raised their baton, and delivered another strike. All while electricity buzzed around the baton. And the guard kept on striking. Not until blood dripped down the baton, and then they scanned the crowd. 

Does anyone else want to try? 

Shiro looked down. He lost an arm for missing a day on his medicine. Matt had lost control of his stomach, panting hard as he rubbed his eyes, hunched over. Shiro used his flesh arm to pat Matt on the back, rubbing soothing circles. 

Then from the four guards, emerged the cloaked woman. She spoke in a hushed and cracked voice, she had inhaled smoke, but soft enough so only the guards could hear her. The guard nodded. The guard that had blood on their uniform. 

“Form a line, we will be conducting physical fitness tests,” they barked, still watching the crowd. “Failure to pass will result in punishment.” 

The beaten prisoner still laid on the floor, no one moving near him in fear of invoking the guards wrath. They moved into a line, Matt and Shiro side by side. But Shiro could feel the familiar ache of anxiety returning to his stomach, the idea of Keith suffering because he was stupid, or because he wasn't strong enough hurt him so much. 

What would they take away? Food, the pills they gave them, water? 

Ad the anxiety moved through Shiro’s head, he would watch the physical assessments, he needed to know the numbers they pushed. And he needed to beat them by a landslid. Not for himself, but for Keith’s sake. Shiro watched the assessments with hawk like vision, but he noticed out of the corner of his eye something about Matt.   
He wasn’t watching it all. H was watching to the door, but more specifically, he was watching how the prisoners got taken out of the room after the assessment was done. Shiro noticed how Matt would mumble to himself every couple of minutes about something about the code of the door and something in the armour. 

“You, the one with the replica arm. It’s your turn,” and Shiro was ripped out of his head and he walked over to the guards and the cloaked one. He walked over them all, eyeing the gaurds still bloody shoes. 

And he worked as hard as he knew possible. Jumps jacks, push ups, they even started to make him lift weights. Admittedly, the first few where a breeze for him as he had done it so many times with Keith by his side, but strength is where he began to struggle. He had no idea what type of form he was supposed to use with them without the risk of injuring himself. But he also didn’t want to slow down in fear it would affect his time. 

A smallish crowd started to watch Shiro do the assessment, watching his from and how he moved. Shiro did his best to ignore them but he found it a little irritating how they starred at his metal arm. The sweat ran down his neck and onto his stomach as he tried to control his breathing, getting ready for the next thing they wanted to do. The tests cam to an end and, Shiro held back the urge to vomit from all the physical strain on his body from no warm up or cool down.

He looked over at the cloak figure, watching her expression for something to give away on how he did. The woman mumbled something to the guards, and the baton weilding guard moved from their post and over to Shiro. 

They moved with purpose and it made Shiro take a hesitant step back. The guard and him made, what Shiro thought, was eye contact. He couldn’t see their face from their helmet. Shiro felt his form crouch down, the muscles on his leg tensing, and the guard did the same with their hand slowly drifting towards the baton. 

Shiro moved faster than he expected, as he went into tackle the guard. Shiro thought he would smash into one of the walls, but instead he connected with the guards form, wrapping his arms around the guards chest with a strength he didn’t know he had. Shiro felt the guards panicked breathing through the hold, and he wanted more of it. He lifted the guards body, and he smashed the guard down onto the ground. 

The other prisoners hollered, screaming for more as they formed a circle around Shiro and the guard. The guard that still had blood on their boots. Shiro could hear the sound of his fellow inmates smashing their fists against the metal walls, their hollers as they stamped their feet for more. 

Shiro looked at the guards form on the ground, and he turned over to his fellow prisoners, and he raised his arms to them. They screamed, banging closed fists onto the walls. Perhaps it was proof that they could fight back, and they had something to put their rage onto. Shiro felt like something in his mind has been released, like he had un-clenched his jaw after holding it on for so long. 

The cloak woman spoke up, but for such a slight woman her voice was a boom, “Enough!” 

Her hand moved, and lighting sprung from her hand, shocking him. He threw back his head, screaming in pain as he hit the ground. He felt his muscles thrashing, as his body desperately tried to move away from the source of pain. Shiro let out a strangled scream, his throat tightening and loosening so unexpectedly.   
Everything then faded to black, with the guards dragging him back to his cell. And he remembered Keith coming to his side when he was thrown into the room. He could feel soft whispers, and fingers combing through his hair. Soft touches, and soft voices. He could smell Keith, and Shiro inhaled it deeper, pressing his nose against the place was strongest. 

Keith would always be there.   
No matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Queens and kings I'm so sorry this chapter is so late its just school has been fucking me hard. Buuuuuuut school is winding down in like the next couple of weweks so there is like the super strong possibility of like a weekly update scheduled again
> 
> pwease leave comments as i need attention to survie


	7. Pushed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my previous little sweet rolls how is everything? so good news i passed like two classes with like flying colours? so thats pretty swag money hahah.

Keith ran to Shiro’s side when he saw him being thrown to the ground by the guards. He ignored the pain of where they had electrocuted him, and he wrapped his arms around Shiro’s chest, dragging him away from the door. He glared at the guards, baring his teeth at them as they walked away. Shiro’s body was limp, but Keith could feel Shiro’s shallow breathing. He put Shiro in his bed, and then he put their beds together so they could snuggle. 

Keith got into his night shirt, and he brought the covers up to his and Shiro’s chests. He even made sure to firmly tuck Shiro, while mumbling to Shiro about what their captors had done to him now. Keith ran his fingers through Shiro’s hair, smiling as he watched Shiro’s expression seemed to soften. 

Once satisfied that Shiro was sleeping soundly so Keith reached for the tablet on the nightstand. It scanned his hand, and just placing the headphones around his neck. He was on a really interesting part of the Red fights launch system, and he was also considering the possibility of being able to use the thrustsers along with the launch controls to create an explosive launch. 

‘Class A-51 Red fighter’  
‘Galra Biology’ 

Keith felt his back straighten, his eyes scanning it. He had heard the cloaked woman, Haggar, discussing something like putting the learning material onto their tablet so they could learn. And she mentioned something like them being called, an Alpha and Omega pair. A pair. 

‘Already getting ideas on what to do to their other halves’, her voice flashed in his mind and it made Keith glance down at Shiro. 

Other half? 

He wanted to wake Shiro, but, this didn’t seem important enough to justify waking him up. And Shiro was injured by their captors and needed time to recover from whatever they had done to him. Shiro would wake up, and then it would Shiro’s turn to look at the material. Then they could make sense of this new information together, as a team. 

So he clicked the new material. It spoke about their being three ganders in the Galra Empire, and by being a certain gender affected one’s play in their society. It spoke about what an Alpha was- they where warriors, and seen as hunters. They could go into ruts, which was when they where at their most fertile to impregnate someone.   
The Betas, the all rounders. Respected, and diverse. Easily adaptable. They could have babies with others betas, and in some cases Alphas. They didn’t have ruts, or heats, so their fertility remained at a pretty consistent level. Omegas, gatherers. They where seen a tacticians, smart, and being able to sense others. They could have babies with Alphas. And they had heats, much like ruts, where their fertility was at their highest. 

The tablet also included stuff like scenting, and how the scent of an Alpha would be very comforting to an Omega, and vice versa. Mated pairs would swap clothes, and have bathes together as a means of bonding together. They would always sleep in the same bed, or at the very least in the same room as a means of comforting and protecting one another. 

Keith stopped reading for a moment, glancing down at Shiro’s sleeping form, and then down to their two pushed together beds. Shiro had smothered his face into Keith’s pillow. He thought about how often he pushed them together when something seemed to go wrong. His face flushed at the idea of Shiro and him being a mated pair. The way the tablet described it, mated pairs where like married couples. 

Like they where soulmates. 

He skipped ahead on a couple of pages about mated pairs. He didn’t need to know this yet, he was too young. He pressed his knees together, face flushed. Keith felt his eyes glance back down to Shiro again seeming his stirring in his sleep again. He brought his hand gently down on Shiro’s face, lightly stroking it. Shiro leaned into his touch, letting out a deep sigh of relief, and his body leaned into Keith’s touch. 

An Omega’s puberty, was the chapter he landed on. Keith shrugged, still happily avoiding the idea the reading more about stuff like mated pairs, and babies. They started to go through puberty typically at ten to twelve. It started with a fever, throbbing pain in the lower stomach, and mood swings. Keith frowned, clicking his tongue as he flipped ahead of this chapter. He re-crossed his legs, before uncurling them and bringing them closer to his chest. 

Shiro stirred when he did this, and he brought down his hand to gently smooth over Shiro’s hair. Shiro leaned into his touch, groaning as he did so. Keith smiled, and he ran his hands through Shiro’s dark black locks again. Shiro’s body moved shifted, moving closer to Keith and pressing his body up against his. Keith leaned into the touch, closing his eyes. He could fell Shiro’s hot breath on his neck as he slowly shifted his body deeper into the covers. 

The tablet lay on the nightstand, the faint blue light shinning onto the ceiling, painting the room in a soft blue. Keith smiled at the ceiling, wondering what it reminded him of. Shiro brought his arm around Keith’s shoulders, sighing. 

Keith’s eyes moved from the blue ceiling and back onto Shiro, sighing, “Do you think we would make a good ‘mated’ pair Shiro?” he asked the sleeping figure, not daring to wake him up. Shiro remained asleep. Keith smiled at the silence. He saw Shiro painted in the faint blue light, making his hair appear darker, and his face seemed older, and he saw Shiro gently purse his lips. 

“Me too,” Keith mumbled, turning his back onto Shiro. 

He woke up the sound of bathwater running. He rubbed at his eyes, looking around to see the pushed together beds empty, and Shiro not working out, or eating his breakfast. Keith rubbed at his eyes again, standing up from the bed and stretching, and he heard a satisfying popping of his back. Keith looked at the tablet on the bed and picked it up, reading over what Shiro has been reading. 

‘Mated pairs’ 

Keith was flushed. Oh dear. Oh no. He closed the tablet, and putting it back to wear he had found it. He could still hear the bath water running. The embarrassment was replaced with dread. What if Shiro’s metal arm had rejected? The panicked thoughts urged him on as he moved to the bathroom. He had to save Shiro, he had to make sure Shiro was okay. 

Keith stumbled into the bathroom, seeing as they had no door, and looked at Shiro in the bathtub. And Shiro looked back at him, his cheeks where flushed but the air wasn’t steamy from hot water. Keith looked down at the ground, “Oh, your okay.” 

Shiro didn’t move from the bathtub but he sighed, “Did you think I hurt myself?” 

Keith felt a drop in his stomach, “Yes.” 

Shiro sighed, sliding into the water. Keith moved back to the beds, and he pushed them apart again. He pushed them so far apart that the beds where against the walls. He got under the covers, cocooning himself into it, face flushed and embarrassed about how he had acted. It wasn’t like Shiro was helpless, he would be fin if something did happen. Btu Keith still wanted to make sure he was safe. 

He gently choked on a sob. He angrily wiped away tears, smothering his face into his pillow. He didn’t know why it mattered so much too him but it did. All he wanted to do was make sure Shiro was safe. Keith inhaled deeper into his pillow, moving around in his cocoon. 

Shiro’s footsteps made him stop shifting around. He heard Shiro stop walking once he reached the foot of Keith’s bed. He felt Shiro’s eyes on him, and he smothered his face into the pillows. Shiro moved again, back to his bed. Keith turned his back to Shiro, still rubbing at his eyes. He heard Shiro toss him something. Keith poked his head out from the covers to see Shiro’s blanket on the cocoon. 

“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” Shiro mumbled from his bed, looking down at the tablet. 

It wasn’t even turned on. 

“I was just scared you where hurt,” Keith replied, hugging the blanket Shiro tossed him. 

Silence hung in the air, Shiro broke it first, “I...”. But then he just looked down at the tablet. 

“You read what it said about mated pairs, didn’t you?” Keith asked, watching Shiro’s expression. Shiro looked down at the ground, his face pink, and he scratched his neck. He did. They both did. Keith leaned forward, still holding the blanket close to his chest. 

“What did you think?”

Shiro swallowed hard, and he turned so he was sitting on his bed, and he started to bounce his leg. “It was…..informative,” was all Shiro said. 

They both knew about the pushing the beds together, sharing the same bathwater, and how it was all things that mated pairs did together. They both knew that Keith was the one to push the beds together. And Keith was embarrassed. And ashamed. And Shiro not looking at him made it all the more worse. 

“You where passed out in the bathtub! I had to dragged you out, and you where ice cold. Of course I had to warm you up, and it wasn’t like I could just run a new bath,” Keith snapped in the silence. Shiro remained silent, and that spurred him on further. Keith stood up from his bed, standing between his and Shiro’s. 

“I was alone in this room for three months, Shiro! I started to hear your voice, I had dreams about you coming back,” he screamed at Shiro. Keith felt his voice choke up, “I couldn’t bear the thought of being in the bath after seeing you like that,” Keith breathed, voice ragged as he looked at Shiro with tearful eyes. 

Shiro stood up from his bed, walking over to Keith. He grabbed Keith by his shoulders and hugged him. Keith stood there, dumbfounded. Btu he brought his hands around Shiro and it felt nice. It felt warm. 

“I don’t mind if you want to push the beds together, Keith.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this chap? a little short but i love teasing yall with some hot and heavy shame and slowburing


	8. Sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My loves,,,,,,i can explain why its been two monthes

When Keith woke up, it was to Shiro shaking him awake. He felt Shiro’s hard grip dig into his biceps, and then he moved his flesh hand into gently smacking him on his face. Keith groaned, angrily looking around. But he soon saw why Shiro was waking him up. There was a group of guards, around five from what he could see in the room. Two of them faced him and Shiro, and they had something that looked like rifles in hand. Keith was instantly awake, getting out of his bed and to Shiro’s side. 

The three other guards seemed to be bring something into the room. It was at least as tall as one of the guards, and it had a headset that looked like a helmet attached to to it. It was carried in by a hovercraft, gently groaning from the weight of the strange machine. One of the guards lifted up their hand to stop the hovercraft. Keith looked around the room, also realising that their wasn’t enough room for the machine. 

“Place the beds together, move the VR machine into the corner,” the guard spoke, moving their hand to point in the right hand corner. The other two nodded, picking up Shiro’s bed and placing it next to Keith’s. 

Kieth looked over at Shiro, quietly mumbling, “VR machine?” 

Shiro shrugged as well, eyes watching the guard giving out orders, “I heard them talking about something like that a couple of weeks ago but,” Shiro quietly trailed off. They watched the machine get placed down with a small thud, and then it got checked to see if it worked. Peering eyes, watching how the machine turned on, and what it could do. Keith was fascinated by it, something new. The new stimulates made his brain foggy, and as the guards would move away from it he took a step forward to it. 

He felt Shiro yank him back to the others side hard, his fingers tightly wrapped around his shoulder. Keith shot Shiro an angry look, brows creased as he looked at him. Shiro’s face held the same stone like expression Keith bore him. Keith broke the gaze first, noticing the guards had seen their silent feud. It made Keith pull his teeth back, even more annoyed now. 

The guards cleared out, silent and moving in perfect sync. Once the door closed to the outside, Keith turned to look at Shiro, “You didn’t need to do that, I wasn’t going to do anything stupid,” he grumbled, looking down at the scratched floors. 

Shiro had been weird lately. 

“How was I supposed to know you weren’t going to do anything stupid,” Shiro fired back, walking away from Keith. 

Keith rolled his eyes, walking over to the machine. He let out an excited breath as he realised it was designed to look like the control switches and cockpit of the red fighter. He went to look over to at Shiro, but saw Shiro sitting on the beds, tablet in hand, frowning. Keith matched his frown but quickly turned to look back at the virtual reality set up. 

It was at least the size of Keith, and Kieth moved around the machine, trying to judge the best way to get into it without the risk of scratching or damaging it. He concluded the only way to do this was to gently move his body, and just slid into the sit. Sure enough, that proved the best way to get in, and Keith looked at the controls and the monitors, running his fingers along them, trying to burn the memory of the controls in his mind. 

He had read in the manual that setting up a mental image of the controls helped with creating a seamless line of flying and combat. His eyes landed on the headset, somewhat similar to that headphones on the tablet. But this one was like a helmet, and it had something that would cover the eyes. Keith took a good look at it, shrugged, and slid it on. 

His vision was instantly slapped with an assault of colour and glowing controls. He felt his body jump at all the new things. Seeing all these new things felt like a punch in the jaw, and his eyes watered from all the strain. He quickly took it off, and was greeted by the monotone colours of their room, and Shiro standing over him. 

Keith saw Shiro’s worried face, hovering over Keith, a hand still hovering over Keith’s shoulder. Keith looked down at the ground, gritting his teeth, “I wasn’t doing anything stupid,” he snapped, holding the helmet. 

“I was just making sure your okay,” Shiro said, taking a step back. 

Silence. 

The ting that seemed so normal in their room, was now, foreign.   
“What’s been with you lately? You’ve been….weird,” Keith finally caved. “Ever since you started going to to those assessment things, you always come back weird and angry at me.” 

Shiro felt a pit in his stomach open up. And he wanted it to swallow him whole. He moved to the beds, sitting down, feeling the beds squeak under his weight. “They...the others prisoners tend to talk about the other people in their rooms like they are just objects,” he muttered. 

He saw Keith leave the VR machine. Keith always screwed up his eyebrows when he was worried about something, or when their was a tough part in the material. Soft padded footsteps neared him. Shiro lifted his gazed off the floor. Long legs, and muscled stomach. Pale. Nice black hair, and violet eyes that would glisten as he wept. Shiro felt his jaw clench. Their pushed together beds. 

“You can tell me anything,” Keith offered, sitting next to Shiro, putting an arm around Shiro’s shoulders. 

Shiro’s mind took his back to the training rooms and assessment. And he didn’t want it to but it still did. 

He was watching as three of the others prisoners surrounded one on the floor, cheering him on to do more push ups. The one of the floor was new, and sweat ran down their face as they did another push up, forcing their body to move then though it screamed at them not to. But their body won out, and they sit the ground mid push up, wheezing in exhaustion. And then the real motive of cheering and egging on to do another push up would be made obvious. 

One of the prisoners feet would connect with the new guys stomach, and the beating would start. It would never last long, thirty seconds at most, before the guards would come. But the three prisoners would have had their fun, and the new guy would be sent back to his room with a poor mark on assessment. 

And Shiro fucking told the new guy not to do it. 

The other prisoners steered clear of Shiro these days. He had a reputation. The prisoner that got a guard. And he was doing well on the boards. 

The boards became a thing of obsession for the people in the room. Both the guards and prisoners. They would be assessed on how well they where doing, in the manuals, and in terms of physical prowess. And the higher you got on the boards, the guards had promised that they would get something. The top ten would get int six months before the others.

And the guards would place bets on them and how well they did on the boards, like cattle.

But the worst thing of all in the training rooms. Was what they talked about. 

“You should have seen the way she bounced on me,” A voice laughed, and then they started moaning in high pitched shrieks. “Oh yes! My alpha, fuck me like a bitch please,” they laughed, like it was a priceless joke. 

It was all they talked about. Sex. Sex. Sex. Mates. Sex. Mates. Training. Dieting. Sex. The boards. Sex. Sex. Mates. Sex. Mates. Sex. The boards. Sex. Sex. Mates. Sex. Mates. Training. The boards. Dieting. Sex. Sex. Sex. Mates. Sex. Mates. And about pregnancy.

In one way, Shiro kind of got it. Sex was the one thing they had. The one thing that made this place normal, almost. They couldn’t talk about the food because they all got the same type of food, and they didn’t even pick it out themselves. All there was to talk about was sex and violence. 

But it made Shiro wish he lost his hearing and not an arm. He bumped the weights, moving fast and hard, trying to zone out of the conversation and just imagine himself back in the room. Not near the others and their filthy words and jokes. Shiro just wanted to be back home. 

“What about you, Shirogane? What does your little thing do for you when you get back to your cell?” One of the long time prisoners asked, doing pull ups. Shiro could guess they had been in the small situation for around the same time. They slowed down in their movement, watching Shiro’s expression. He knew behind that friendly smile was sharp eyes. 

Shiro didn’t want them to know. He didn’t want the one person in this whole ship to be talked about like, an object. Like Keith was just some toy. Keith was the one good thing he had on this ship, and he wasn’t going to let it be ruined by their dirty words and their filthy comments. 

“I have a bath,” He said back, slowing down his flesh arm. “They draw it for me.” 

“Aw come on, Shirogane. Don’t be so cheap with the horny details, you know all ours,” one of them leered him on, standing up and rolling their hips in the air. “You aren’t even telling us if your partner is a boy or a girl.” 

“I didn’t ask about your details. And I don’t see why it matters if Keith is a boy or a girl,” Shiro snapped, throwing the weight down on the ground, jaw tight. And he felt his throat drop as he realised what he just said. 

“Keith? Is that your partners name?” one of them gently poked, smiling wide. 

Shiro moved closer to them, “Don’t talk about him.”

“I’ll have to keep my eyes out for him-”   
And Shiro’s fist made contact with his opponents throat. The other prisoners that had been watching the scene unfolded instantly starting cheering the scene on, excited to see two people on the board go at it. Or at least excited to see a beat down. His enemy, James something. Rolled on the ground. 

Shiro circled around him, waiting for him to get up. The cheers filled his ears, the same way it did when he fought that guard. But he couldn’t take his eyes off James. He wanted James to pay for evening implying something about Keith. He more angry at James then he was at the guards.

James kicked out Shiro’s legs, and Shiro crawled on top of him. James fingers wrapped around Shiro’s neck, and Shiro’s hands did the same. And they squeezed. Shiro wanted to see the fucking veins pop on James’ eyes. And he heard the doors open but he couldn’t unlock his fingers even if he wanted to. He saw the legs of a guard, and he felt the electricity flood his body and everything go black. 

But he didn’t wake up in his room with Keith and their beds pushed together and fingers running through his hair. He was in the med bay. The med bay that cut off his arm. And he was in one of those healing pods. He slammed his fist on the glass, hoping that would do something. He baned on it harder, and sure enough a cloaked figure came out from the darkness. 

They draw blood, and checked his vitals, but sure enough they let him out. He took a careful step out, and cracked his body before he looked over at the cloaked figure, and he looked back in the empty hallway. They moved in the darkness almost as quiet as the night. It wasn’t until he was at his doorstep did he realise that there where no guards. He didn’t even think his escort had a weapon. 

And he stood there for a moment. 

The door slid open, and there stood Keith. 

Eyes full of worry for him, and taking a small step towards the door. And Shiro walked through the door and into Keith’s arms. 

And he was back. In the present. And in Keith’s arms. He felt hos body shaking with sobs, and it felt good to cry and know Keith was there. He felt fingers rubbing circles on his head, and soft breaths in his hair. He tried to calm his breathing down, and Keith gently patted him on the back. 

He looked up at Keith, with swollen eyes, blinking away tears. Keith smiled at him, eyes watery as well. Shiro ran his hand through Keith’s hair, feeling the long black curls through his flesh hand. Keith leaned forwards, his hands gently folding around Shiro’s neck. 

“Can I kiss you?” Shiro asked. 

“Yeah,” Keith mumbled back, cheeks flushed. 

Their lips gently pressed together, soft and gentle. They pulled away, Shiro feeling like his face was on fire, and Keith’s whole face was flushed pink. And then they kissed again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahaha i figured id give yall the slightest, slightest bit of sheith content considering its been so long


	9. Three years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wig so its been a hot minute

The routine that they kept had shifted again. But Shiro enjoyed the change. It was one of the few good changes that had happened since he was on the ship. They would wake up, train, and eat, and they took turns on the manual and on the VR machine. It was easy. Being by Keith’s side and having Keith by his side. Shiro pressed his face into Keith’s hair, inhaling. 

Kieth groaned from his side of the bed into his pillow then slowly crawling out of bed.

Shiro groaned again as well, loosing the heat source of the bed. 

Keith looked at the tally marks on the wall, getting down on his knees as he scratched a new tally mark with his comb. The wall was decorated with tally marks. He ran his hand over them, feeling all the marks along his fingers as he slowly pulled back. His comb that he used to use was now a dedicated tally marker. Keith just used Shiro’s comb these days.

He heard Shiro groaning sleepy, moving taking Keith's pillow to his ear to drown out the sound of scratching, “Are you still doing those tally marks?” he said, his voice muffled from the pillows. 

Keith stood up, stretching his back from being crouched over for a little while, hearing the crack of his back. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” he asked, looking over at Shiro who was still in bed, pulling the covers over his head. Keith looked back at the wall, close to eight hundred tally marks decorated the wall. The first ones where big, obvious. But as more time stretched on they realised that had to be a little more sparse with the size of the tally marks. They where close to running out of wall space on this wall. Keith walked over to the door, getting ready to pikc up the basket and put it on the table. 

But it looked different. It didn’t look like a traditional basket but it looked like the world outside the room. Electrical and wire. Keith ran a hand over the box, feeling the hum of power within the box. It gently opened, revealing warm food that smelt fresh and warm. Keith’s jaw dropped as he sucked in an excited breath. 

“Shiro! Come check it out they gave us a new basket and it’s warm,” Keith said, calling out to Shiro as he stumbled over to Shiro in the bed. Shiro all but jumped out of bed, wide eyed. They both locked at the new basket, both of them fiddling with it and playing with it. 

It opened once again, and they sniffed the food. It smelt like salt, making their mouths water. They put the basket onto the table, moving quickly to unpack it and placing everything on the table for them to look at. 

They didn’t have cutlery in the new basket, they never did.

And they learnt to accept that they’d just have to each with their fingers.   
They had also accepted cold food. So the warmness of their meal was all the more exciting. Shiro was the one to dish them, because that was Shiro’s job and Keith would clean up. He placed a piece of warm, salty, orange fish onto Keith's plate and his mouth was nearly drenched in saliva. Normally table manners and eating slowly was what made the days go by longer but instead Keith and Shiro ate it down while it was so warm. By the time they where down, Keith was licking his fingers, leaning back into his chair. 

They cleaned off the milk, like they always did. Keith yawned out loud, feeling warm and full and desperately in need of a nap. Even though they had just woken up. Keith felt his eyes fluttering as he yawned again, only to be nudged by Shiro, shaking his head. 

“Come on, we can’t waste the day,” Shiro said, fighting back his yawn. “Besides we may miss the pills if we fall asleep so lets not risk that.” 

Keith nodded, cleaning up the basket and reaching into the basket for the pills. He pulled out the two bottles, but they felt like they had more weight to them. As he pulled them out, he saw that Shiro’s was full. It wasn’t just one sole pill like Keith had. He could feel Shiro’s sharp eyes watching it was well. He placed them onto the table for both of them to look at and Keith sat back down. 

Shiro took his bottle, opening it and putting one into his hand. He looked at it closely, as did Keith, It looked like the pills that he always took. Thy made eye contact again. They wouldn’t make him take all those pills in one sitting, not after nearly three years of only taking one at a time. Maybe it was a sign of trust? Shiro was older, and he was apart of the gladiatorial training and was ranked extremely high on the charts. 

“You should only take one tonight,” Keith suggested, quiet worry in his voice that he didn’t mean to show. He shouldn’t be freaking out Shiro. 

Shiro nodded, placing the pill back into the bottle, he stood up, smiling at Keith. “Do you want to start training or do you still need to sit?” he asked, light. Like nothing in the world was wrong. 

Keith smiled, standing up and rolling his shoulder, “I swear I’m gonna beat you on how many push ups I can do. I can feel it, this time I’m going to beat you,” he said, elbowing Shiro.   
Keith did not. 

Not by a mile. 

Keith laid on his back, panting hard with sweat running down his back. Shiro was sitting up, panting hard but nor nearly hard as Keith was. They had taken off their shirts, chests rising and falling hard. Keith looked over at Shiro, groaning as Shiro smiled at him with all too pleased grin. 

“Don’t laugh at me, let me have dreams,” Keith huffed, leaning forward. 

“Lean back again.” Shiro’s voice shout out quickly. As he said it, he breathed out hard. 

Shiro’s breathing had returned to normal, and he wasn’t nearly as sweaty as Keith was. But he had turned his whole body to look at Keith. And Keith suddenly felt very exposed in front of him. Sure, they had kissed but this felt different. Shiro’s gaze felt charged. It felt like the kisses only seemed like the start of something greater.

Keith leaned back, his pale chest rising and falling. It was the first time in a while since Shiro had seen Keith shirtless. Shiro watched his chest rise and fall, moving closer to him. Keith stayed still, breathing softly as he watched Shiro. 

It not likes the growth in his chest worried Keith. He knew from the tablet that what he was going through was normal and it happened to ‘omegas’ at his age. But it was Shiro’s gaze on them that made him embarrassed. But it made Keith want to stay still 

“Can I touch you?” Shiro asked, his voice deeper. Husky. 

Keith crossed his legs, feeling a tight coil in his stomach do a flip. He nodded. 

“Of course.” 

Shiro’s flesh hand gently raised the soft mound of flesh on Keith’s chest. They where small, so small that no one would even be able to tell that they where there. Unless he had taken his shirt off in the heat of competition, or unless someone knew his body well. And Shiro knew both. 

Keith didn’t feel anything to start with, it was just Shiro touching him there. But it was Shiro. Keith re-crossed his legs as Shiro moved closer, starring down at his chest. Shiro’s flesh hand moved slowly, feeling the soft skin on his finger tips. His thumb grazed Keith’s right nipple and it perked up. 

Shiro moved so close to the point where he was all but on top of Keith, feeling his chest and massaging them. Keith was pink, his stomach tightening and shifting his hips hard. Shiro pinched the perked up nipple, hard. 

Keith yelped, shoving Shiro off of him. He stood up and covered his chest, putting on his shirt with ragged breathing. He shot a look over at Shiro, who sat on the floor for only a few seconds before he moved over to the bathroom. The water started running.

Keith sat back down the bed, face flushed. Steam started to roll out of the bathroom, and Keith messed around with the VR machine. The VR machine could perfect replicate what Keith had imagined to be the red fighter over the years of reading and re-reading the manual. And after getting used to all the brightness and all the flashing, he thought he would get the hang of it. 

It would have been educational, even fun, having the chance to fly the plane that he had been studying for so long. But his mind would jerk back to Shiro over him for only a few seconds. But it was the few seconds of broken his contraction and he would die or blow up the ship in the simulation. 

He took of the head seat, leaning back into his chair and sighing deeply, He turned over and saw Shiro leaving the bathroom, hair damp. Keith looked away again, face flushed. Maybe he could go back into the simulation. 

“The bathrooms yours,” Shiro said over his shoulder as he got into bed.

Their bed. 

Keith bathed, until the water got cold. He emerged from the water, drying himself and padding into their room. Shiro was reading from the tablet. Shiro glanced up from the tablet, smiling at Keith before his eyes flicked back onto the tablet. 

But one of Shiro’s hand moved to tap the bed. Keith moved into the bed, looking over at the tally wall. 

“What wall do you want to start adding tally marks to?” Keith asked, looking over at Shiro’s who had put down the tablet. 

Shiro looked over at the tally wall, and he looked down. “I don’t know why you keep adding to the wall,” he muttered. 

“What do you mean?” Keith asked, raising an eyebrow at Shiro. 

“It’s just reminder that where in here. I don’t need to be reminded of where I am, Keith” Shiro shot back. “It’s fucking depressing.” 

Keith and Shiro stopped keeping diligent track of the tally's after that. They missed the odd couple of days but they figured they'd just do it on a whim every now and then. And it was kind of a relif not to see the tally marks grow at such a rapid pace anymore. Like they where slowly repairing the missing stair in the world that proved they where trapped.


	10. Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say sorry to my parents because this if mf disgusting

Keith took off the VR headset, mumbling underneath his breathe, “The divers are just impossible to drive past without taking too much damage,” he complained loudly. 

Keith was rubbing his eyes as he stretched his body. He felt his back crack happily as he had been hunched over in the machine for what could have been hours on end with only a short bath break. Keith was doing a rerun of an old training simulation with the difficultly upped and with random encounters thrown into it. He couldn’t go used to the way the simulation fought. He sat down on the bed. 

“Did you try using the drivers thrusts to put yourself out?” Shiro called out from the bathroom. Keith heard the sound of water being poured. 

Keith sighed, rolling his eyes, “Yes, I did. All it did was waste fuel for Red. And besides, Red doesn’t take fire damage as hard as Black. And the thing that always ends the mission is the divers,” 

He heard Shiro hum, and Keith kept ranting. “They just dive on and Red. I can out manoeuvre them but all it needs is one to make contact with the fuel tank and then the whole mission is just over for me within the next twenty seconds. And I can’t put myself out with the thrusters because then I’ll use all my fuel and just be a sitting target,” Keith groaned, growing more and more frustrated with himself as he kept analysing the situation. 

There had to be an easy solution. And he just hadn't found it yet. And it was driving Keith up the wall.

“Come on, don’t be so hard on yourself, Keith,” Shiro said, walking into the room with his towel around his shoulders. 

Shiro’s body had changed over the years, just like Keith’s had. Broad shoulders, muscled arms, and legs. Shiro looked like an adult. But the image of such an adult was ruined by the long, dark pyjama bottoms. It was littered with holes, and the pants had been cut up to the shins so Shiro could pull them up more to preserve his modesty. Keith was in the same boat, the dress shirt had become too tight on his growing forearms and biceps, so they cut the sleeves. Keith had lost three buttons on the shirt. 

It was something to be expected from them having lived in this room for five years, or so. The tally wall had been neglected and they had stopped keeping dutifully track of how long they had lived in their home together. 

His long black hair was damp, having been towel dried as best as possible in an already steaming bathroom. Keith sat up, leaning over to the nightstand to take out the comb as Shiro sat down at the bed. Keith gently ran the old comb through Shiro’s dark black hair, watching the water drip onto the hole covered towel. 

Shiro struggled with brushing his hair, especially with it at the length it was. Keith had discovered a huge knot within Shiro’s hair when they where wrestling and since then Keith demanded Shiro sit and be quiet while he combed out Shiro’s hair. 

And so know Shiro would sit still while Keith combed out his hair. 

Once Keith was finished with the task, he smiled too himself. Shiro’s hair was a dark ink black when it was wet. He could only imagine what it looked like when he was in water. Keith ran a hand down Shiro’s dark locks. “I wish my hair was like this, it’s so pretty,” Keith said allowed. 

“I want to try and cut it again,” Shiro said with a grumble to his tone. “I don’t think it will be safe to have in the pits, the enemy could easily grab my hair and force me into a submission position.” 

Keith nodded, “I understand but Shiro with that old and dull marker we use for the walls.” 

It was after Shiro had gone to the performance assessment, with the other captives and someone had grabbed at his hair. They couldn’t even get the chance to get Shiro into a good enough old that he couldn’t break out of. It was the fact that they had grabbed him that Shiro hated it. So he took the older wall marker and went at his hair for an hour. He only managed to take the front strands of his hair before Keith had told him to snap out of it. 

Shiro was quiet, sighing deeply. Shiro leaned back into Keith’s chest, letting his body relax. Shiro moved his flesh hand, wrapping his pointer finger around lock of Keith's hair, curling it. Keith smiled, watching Shiro curl the lock of hair. 

“Maybe I should try to cut mine as well. It gets to knotted up too easily,” Keith said, looking down at the dry and dead ends of the lock that Shiro was taking such an interest in. 

“I think it looks best long,” Shiro suggested, further pushing the back of his head onto Keith’s body. 

They moved their bodies so Shiro was comfortable resting his body against Keith's chest and stomach. Shiro felt Keith’s hairy legs his shoulders as they twisted into a more comfortable position. Shiro felt the heat of Keith's chest against the side of his head and onto his ears. He heard Keith's heart beat and it made the stress of performance assessment and the competition fade away. 

“Maybe you could braid your hair?” Shiro suggested, looking up at Keith's face.   
“It would look good on you.” 

As the words slipped out of Shiro’s lips, they heard a sharp creek from one of the walls. The creek was followed by another large groan of the pipes, like it was a dying animal. The groaning of the pipes echoed throughout the room, like the scream of a dying miner in a cave collapse. A silence hung in the air. It was worse than the groaning and screaming of the pipes. 

Like waiting for a balloon to pop.

The loud bang was the last thing they heard before all the lights went out. 

Within the loud bang and their world going into darkness. Shiro grabbed Keith by one of his arms arms and threw him onto the bed. Keith let out a surprised gasp, feeling Shiro throw his body like it was a sack with such ease. Shiro quickly covered Keith’s body with his own and Shiro folded his hands on his neck. Keith tried to make his body smaller, curling into Shiro’s body, and following Shiro’s move of covering the back of his neck and covering his ears. They both waited, bracing for impact.

The lights flickered back on. 

And they made eye contact. Shiro’s dilating pupils watched as Keith’s also dilated as well. Shiro looked into Keith’s eyes and he saw the same kind of beauty that he thought that people wrote songs talked about. Lilac eyes starred into his, almost cat like. They remained frozen before Shiro pulled away, face flushed. 

Shiro stayed on the bed, feeling heat pool into his stomach. Keith moved closer to him, and he wrapped his arms around Shiro’s shoulders. Shiro tensed up in the hug before he relaxed, leaning into the touch.

They both moved over the table, taking their pills. They brushed their teeth, and crawled into bed together. Sleep came naturally now. In the first year it was something Keith struggled with but as he grew used to the new routine and on top of daily exercise to the point of exhaustion, sleep was no longer an issue. He dreamt of the flight simulations. 

It was when Keith woke up did he feel the cold. His bones felt the cold. He leaned forward, groaning as he looked around the room for Shiro. Shiro was already awake, and he was doing push ups. A thin layer of sweat coated Shiro already. He looked up at Keith, standing up and moving closer to Keith. 

“I think something has happened to the heating,” Shiro said, looking around the room and back onto Keith. “We have to stay warm.” 

They didn’t know how cold it could get in their room, and since they where of a spacecraft, Keith wasn’t ready to find out how cold it could get in the room. Keith got out of bed and he felt a cold rush through his toes as his feet hit the ground. Well, now he was really awake. Keith started stretching his body as he worked out with Shiro. They where pushing their bodies today. Keith’s teeth where chattering as he did another push up, his fingers felt numb. 

Shiro stopped doing push ups, catching a glimpse at Keith’s fingers that where rapidly looking more and more purple. He placed his hand on top of Keith’s. Keith stopped, looking up at Shiro. 

“Did you want to eat?” Shiro asked, his voice chilled and trying to hide it. 

They ate the warmish food together, it would have been hotter if not for the cold but at the moment and their fingers dug into the chicken it felt almost too hot to eat. Mouth watering warm food, that was the only thing that they could thing about as they ate too quickly. Keith pulled back with a wide smile on his face, letting out a deep content sigh. Only to see mist escape his lips as he did so. 

In the next couple of hours, working out became too exhausting to do to keep warm. And as they stopped working out, the sweat on their bodies became cold and it made everything all the more cold. They laid in the bed together, holding each other as they shook together. Shiro had his metal arm hanging out of the covers, it seemed like it was absorbing the cold. Kieth had his hands pressed against Shiro’s shoulder where metal meet flesh. 

“Did you want to take a bath?” Shiro suggested, his lips blue as he looked over at Keith. 

“It would be too cold, the water would have been affected,” Keith said back, shaking his head as he moved his hands around Shiro’s shoulder. 

“We don’t know that.” Shiro argued back. 

And with that. Shiro got out of the bed. He wrapped his arms around his body as he walked into an ice cold bathroom. He grasped the hot water tap, turning it hard. Water splashed out and Shiro knew it would be colder an ice. He felt an overwhelming dread fill his stomach. They where going to freeze. Shiro moved to turn off the water, his stomach filled with dread and panic. 

“Leave it on, it may get warmer,” Keith’s voice ringed out. 

He was standing in the doorway, watching the water drain into the tub. Shiro moved his hand away from the tap. The rushing water slowly started steam. Shiro grinned ear to ear, looking over at Keith who wore the same wide smile. Keith walked over to the tub, and ran his hand along the hot water. He pulled his hand away, pink with heat. 

“Do you want to have the first bath or shall I?” Shiro asked while he filled the bath. 

“We don’t know how long the hot water will go for. Maybe we could,” Keith gently suggested, looking at the hot water. 

“Bathe together?” 

“We could keep out clothes on?” 

“And then have them freeze us when we get out of the water,” Shiro said, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t think it would be a big deal. I mean, it’s nothing we haven't seen before,” he breathed out through his teeth. 

Keith was quiet for a few minutes, arms crossed over his chest before he shrugged. “If your okay with it then I’m okay with it,” Keith said, moving closer into the bathroom. 

They took off their clothes quickly, throwing them into a pile outside the bathroom. Keith shook as he padded over to the hot tub, and quickly got in. His skin screamed at him from going to a sudden cold to a sudden hot but he welcomed it. He closed his eyes, enjoying the heat of the water. He felt the water rising as Shiro got into the tub. Their added weight easily overfilled the tub, splashing the hot water onto the white tiled floors. 

They stayed in the hot water for a long time, their added body heat and the hot of the water keeping them warm. Shiro had gotten in behind Keith, but he quickly moved his body within the tub so they where back to back. 

Keith was shampooing his hair before he turned his head over to Shiro, “Do you want me to do your hair as well?”

Shiro nodded. He had been quiet ever since they had gotten into the tub. Not that it bothered Keith or anything. The silence they where used to was enjoyed. They didn’t need to say anything to the other because the other already knew. 

Keith massaged into Shiro’s hairline, hearing Shiro groan about how that was the spot. Once he was satisfied that Shiro's hair was clean he washed it out. As he washed the water out of Shiro’s hair, he ran his hand down Shiro’s hair. He pressed his against Shiro’s neck just on a whim. Shiro’s body tensed as soon as Keith touched his neck. 

He pulled his hand away, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” 

“It’s okay. It didn’t hurt. It felt good like...I was getting massaged,” Shiro said, his face flushed. 

Keith moved Shiro’s hair, placing his hand on Shiro’s neck. His fingers roamed around the side of Shiro’s neck, feeling bumps around his neck. Shiro was tense at first but soon relaxed easily into it. They did it for minute before Shiro turned around, face flushed and he smiled. 

“Do you want me to do it to you?” he asked, grinning lazily. 

It made something in Kieth's stomach do a flip. 

Shiro turned around and moved closer, he placed his flesh hand on his neck. It didn’t make Keith tense up like Shiro did, which made him frown. Shiro moved his hand around Keith’s neck, exploring, looking, for something. Then Shiro’s hand brushed up against the back of his neck that lead into his hairline. And he understood why it felt so good. 

He groaned out loud, feeling his muscles relax as he leaned into the touch. Shiro moved closer to Keith, placing his metal hand on the end of the tub. They where cocooned into the tub together. In the warm water. Keith moved his legs so Shiro could move closer, and he happily did. Shiro kept massaging the back of his neck, keeping a hard and firm pace as he watched Keith’s face. Keith placed his arms on the bath tub edges, his fingers happily wrapping around the cold ceramic. 

Shiro rested his head onto Keith’s shoulder, his breath staggering as he breathed out his name, “Your so pretty,” 

The pipes of the ship groaned again. IN the same way they had before the lights went out and the heat was taken. Shiro and Kieth stopped moving, looking around as they heard the pipes groaning throughout the bathroom. The lights went out again, and they where in darkness for a few moments. 

Shiro pressed his lips against Keith’s neck. Delicately and quickly. 

The pipes groaned hard, and the lights came back on. And there they where, in the bathroom together, naked. Shiro pulled back first, his whole body tensed and flushed. Keith got out first, picking up his towel and quickly leaving the bathroom. Shiro stayed in the bathroom for a little bit before he came out, dried and wearing his clothes. 

Keith was in bed, drying his hair as he looked up at Shiro who stood at the foot of the bed. He smiled at Shiro, who smiled back. They got into bed together, silence hanging in the air. Uncomfortable silence. It hung in the air in the same way the chill hanged in the air. 

Keith was braiding his hair and he saw out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shiro reaching for him. He pressed himself into the pillow, stomaching flipping and twisting in excitement. He blushed as he looked at Shiro. Who was reaching for the tablet on Keith's side of the bed. 

Keith slowly sunk back into the covers, turning his back to Shiro and pulling some of the covers on Shiro’s side. He closed his eyes trying to make himself fall asleep. But every now and then Shiro would move around, and his hand would brush up against the back of his neck. Which would jolt Keith awake. And when he would look over his shoulder to see what Shiro was doing he would just be reading from the tablet. 

It was after the fourth time did Shiro lean over Keith’s body and place the tablet back onto the bedside table. Sleep soon came to Keith but he dreamed of the bathroom. Shiro massaging his neck again, and the two of them pressed together as hard as they could. He felt the kiss on his neck like it was burning iron.

But it was so pleasant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah that happened and yeah pwease like and comment because it really helps me


End file.
